When Charnley and others began to do substantial numbers of arthroplasties, they met a high incidence of subsequent failure from sepsis. There was at that time a revival of interest in the possibility that surgical sepsis originated from airborne bacteria, and engineering developments had provided the means for attaining much cleaner atmospheres. Over a period of ten years, Charnley reduced airborne contamination by more than 100-fold, and his sepsis rate fell, without using antibiotics, by… CONTINUE READING